Phoenix
by Will Sing For Ginseng
Summary: Katara wakes up ten weeks after Sozin's Comet, and finds herself a prisoner in the Fire Nation palace. Ozai was defeated, but Azula has crowned herself "Phoenix Queen". Katara must, once again, find a way to restore balance to a hopeless world. If only she knew where the rest of the GAang was... [Alternate Series Ending][Zutara]
1. Prologue

**A/N: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters. **

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><p><em><strong>You're gonna wake to a whole different scene.<br>All your pretty lights and neon signs replaced with green.  
>And as you curse the river bed that you throw your compass in,<br>there's comfort 'round the bend.  
>But this house is filled with crooks and liars.<br>**__**We regret to inform you there's no love here for you.  
><strong>_I The Mighty / _Cutting Room Floor_

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

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><p>The energy bending that disarmed Ozai took, as the name suggests, an inordinate amount of energy. But seeing Toph, Suki, and Sokka safe and sound was more relieving than I could have believed.<p>

I left the group with Appa so that they could transport the now harmless "Phoenix King" somewhere safe. Not that he needed protecting. But it would just be their luck for some loyalists to find him and rally anew in vengeance. We needed to get him off the scene to discourage his army.

I pulled my extra glider from Appa's saddle and took off toward the palace. The light display could be seen from miles away, so locating Zuko and Katara was not difficult. But the vivid glow coming from the palace courtyard was enough to get me anxious.

_I hope I'm not too late._

No, they were still fighting, which meant that there was still something to fight _for._ There's no doubt that if something were to happen to one, the elemental complement would flee with their comrade to safety.

They must both still be okay.

I dropped to the roof of a pagoda to survey the situation before jumping in. I wanted to tally any advantages I could use against the rabid princess. And since I was already exhausted, I would need any advantages I could get.

What I saw made my stomach drop.

Azula's soldiers surrounded the square leaving a wide berth for the princess and her brother to… I gulped...it was an Agni Kai.

I scanned the crowd for Katara and found her nervously looking on. And occasionally fighting off the odd Fire Nation soldier from getting involved.

_Dammit Zuko!_ What a hothead. We sent Katara to help him for a _reason._

Zuko ducked beneath a particularly powerful barrage of blue flame. Katara turned to the scene, suddenly nervous. A Fire Nation soldier took advantage of her momentary distraction to knee her in the back. Another snatched her waterskin from her side. The first soldier wrapped his arm around to place a palm on her mouth while the other hand held her arm behind her back. Her eyes widened wildly.

Before I realized it, I was swooping down from the ledge and blasting a radius around the scuffle. I found myself haphazardly blasting soldiers away. When I finally reached the one who had apprehended Katara, I saw that he had knocked her out.

And then without warning, I felt immense. My mind stretched to infinity and every avatar surged through my spirit. I was vaguely conscious of the typical glowing down my arms. I saw myself outside of myself, and the power wielded me.

I took out the soldier easily. Katara almost toppled to the floor but I caught her in time.

Somewhere in the distance, Zuko and his sister acknowledged my presence, but continued their fight.

Without thinking, I pulled water from somewhere beneath me. Still in the avatar state, I didn't bother considering from where.

It came to glow in my palms, matching the arrows on my arms. I held it over her head.

Just when I felt the energy fading out of me, I noticed the burn-marks on her face and throat, and my fervor returned anew.

_Her tried to kill her! He marred her beautiful face. _

As if I was looking down on myself from above, I realized that without more pressing matters to attend to (healing Katara) I probably would have killed the man.

I felt the weak thrum of her heartbeat, but realized that I must have been missing something. I placed my hands at the base of her throat, searching for _something_. I began to sense where the blood was flowing.

Even with the unsteady strobe of flame light from behind me, I was solely focused on the direction that Katara's lifeblood was flowing.

_Her back_? Wha-?

I lifted her torso closer to me and reached around behind her.

_NO!_

There between her shoulder blades was the hilt of a knife.

Some part of me knew to pull it out and apply _immediate_ pressure. I was approximately aware that some past incarnation of myself had dealt with a similar situation. But nothing in the world mattered more now than _stopping this damn bleeding. _

I applied more water to her wound and began to feel the tendons knitting themselves back together. The bleeding subsided and her heart drummed more steadily. But she had lost too much blood.

I thanked the spirits for whichever incarnation in my head right now that knew what to do.

I somehow just _knew_ that my blood would save her. Not wasting time with sterilization (we would deal with any infection later), I slit my forearm with the offending knife.

Suddenly bloodbending, I pulled what I needed from the vein and began to approximate where I should cut Katara to give it to her.

In my arms, her heartbeat was still too weak. With the touch of my finger to her wrist, I could hardly feel anything at all. I was sure if not for bloodbending, that I would not know if she were alive or dead.

And if not for the avatar state, I would not even be able to bloodbend.

Suddenly, Sokka shouted.

Some small part of me grew annoyed.

_Hadn't I given him busy work? What is he doing _here_?_

Then I heard Zuko shouting. What was he saying? 'Aim'? Oh no, _Aang_! My _name!_

I was abruptly aware of the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I felt static dance across my back.

Azula's laughter echoed distantly.

And then white. Bright. _Too bright_.

And the pain.

The force of the past avatars pulled out of me, painfully. Like getting the wind knocked out of you.

_NO, Katara! I have to save her!_

Too hot. Everything was too hot.

Then black.

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><p><em>Ten Weeks Later<em>

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><p>I was dimly aware of a voice. It was comforting. I slipped into the cadence of the voice. It was a bassy sound. And it swung poetically. I decided to swing with it. Then it bounced merrily. Laughter. It slowed to a roll. Thrummed sadly. Sobbing. The bluster of sniffling ensued. The talking resumed. The same poetic swing. I pushed to the edge of my awareness, searching for something intelligible. Some <em>words<em> to grab onto. It hurt too much. I was too weak. The fuzziness clouded the edges of my awareness and I tumbled back out of consciousness.

_I resisted choking on acrid smoke. I needed to remain alert. I had to protect _him. _I couldn't let them interfere. One of _them _tried to rush me. I pulled from the water at my side and forced him back with it. I wouldn't let him interfere.  
><em>_She was trying to hurt him. Zuko! That's who she was trying to hurt. That's who I had to protect him from the men. They were trying to get involved. Trying help _her_.  
><em>_Didn't they understand. It was about honor! They couldn't get involved. They weren't allowed to. It was between Zuko and her. I believed in him. He could take her. He could take anything she could throw at him. And if he couldn't, he would redirect it.  
><em>_I was sure of this. So sure, as I forced another man back. Freezing him in place.  
><em>_I felt an intense heat at my back and the edges of my shadows glowed blue.  
><em>No! _I turned around. She was going to hurt him. She was winning. Azula! She was hurting Zuko. I had to help, do _something!  
><em>Someone hit me from behind. Pulled my arm back. Pinned it against my spine. I felt a shriek building involuntarily within me. A sweaty palm slapped my mouth, trapping the scream in my throat.<br>_"_Katara!" someone shouted. Aang? No, he would get hurt.  
><em>_The arm the man had twisted protested painfully.  
><em>_My water skin sling _snapped_, yanked away. No! I had to get away. Help Zuko. Stop Aang.  
><em>_I bucked my boot backwards and it met a shin. The man grunted angrily.  
><em>_I was sure my shoulder was dislocated.  
><em>Spirits, _it hurt!  
><em>_A blur of blue light and wind blew toward me.  
><em>_No, Aang! Get away! Help Zuko! I can take care of my-  
><em>_ah! Something cold pushed against my back. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't supposed to be there.  
><em>_I exhaled and then forgot how to inhale.  
><em>_I coughed, not from the smoke. Something liquid sputtered in my throat.  
><em>_And the bright fires, dancing at the edge of my vision, dimmed. And dimmed.  
><em>_It feels so good not to worry anymore.  
><em>_My shoulder feels better.  
><em>_Blackness._

"... Lifted the mud from the ground. He bent it a wall to shield himself with it. And the Firebenders burned it into brick. The man truly is a mad genius." The voice chuckled. "I don't think we could have taken the city without him."

The voice hummed a bit pensively. He chuckled again, but hollowly.

"Piandao carried his weight too. That man can wield a sword as if he was born carrying it. It's obvious where Zuk-"

A hiccup, heavy with emotion. The man breathed deliberately.

"He's okay, you know. He's a good boy. So strong. He found his way. Eventually." Laughter.

"It did take him a while though." Sigh. "But for someone who has lost everything, it is sometimes hard to see the paths before one clearly."

I could not pretend to understand what the man was talking about. I was just so happy to have latched onto something intelligible. And it was a kind, comforting voice. Even if it was sad.

Yellow light pulsed behind my eyelids. I was warm. Something heavy and itchy rested against my body. But it was so _warm._

I strained to lift my eyelids. Intense light burst beneath my eyelashes. I squeezed my eyes shut against it.

Okay, try again.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself.

"_Katara?_" The voice gasped. "Dear, are you awake?"

Iroh. It was Iroh. Oh thank the spirits. Someone I know. Someone I know to be good. I am safe.

For now.

I forced my eyes open. My vision swam in the light. My eyes stung with tears.

I blinked rapidly, trying to bring everything into focus.

My mouth opened to answer. "Ir-" my voice cracked.

"Oh, there, there, child. Let me get you some water. Don't strain yourself." A cup pressed gently to my lips.

I noticed that the skin on my lips was dry and tight.

I opened my mouth against the cup.

I felt the water flow into my mouth.

_Spirits,_ it tasted so good!

It fell down my throat like honey. So soothing.

I gulped ravenously. I felt it dripping down my chin and could not care, because it tasted so good.

Finally, there was no more. I gasped for air again, realizing that I had not breathed for all of my chugging.

I glanced up again, and there he was. Iroh beamed down at me and I tried with all my strength to smile back. He laughed in response.

"Oh I cannot tell you how happy I am that you're awake, child."

"Iroh." I said, dumbly, voice still cracking.

He nodded excitedly in response.

"You're alive, Katara." He grabbed one of my hands and grasped it between his. His palms warmed my fingers, which I only just realized were freezing.

A wave of nausea washed over me. Iroh must have seen my face turn green because he reacted quickly, pulling an empty bowl from the bedside table and holding it under my chin.

I hunched forward and he adjusted with my movement to keep it placed in front of me.

I gagged painfully and vomited disgracefully.

I heaved several times more before the nausea subsided.

Humiliated, I look up at Iroh apologetically. He smiled sympathetically, deposited the bowl out of sight, and handed me a handkerchief and a cup of water. After recovering, I apologized.

"Do not be embarrassed. You're going to be okay," Iroh whispered encouragingly.

I took in the strange room. Red designed tapestries hung imposingly on the walls. My bed was near a window, but it was dark out, and I could not see outside, for the room was well-lit.

"Where am I?"

"The Fire Palace." Iroh appeared to brace himself.

Questions burst through my mind, and I wondered why he looked so suddenly dreading.

"How long… was I…?"

"Ten weeks, yesterday."

_Ten weeks?_

He must have seen how horrified I was. He placed my hand in his again. "There, there. You had much to recover from. You are a strong person, Master Katara, to come back from death's door step."

Memories scrambled to the edge of my mind. I wracked my brain to reach out for them. Recall what _the hell happened!_

But they remained just beyond my grasp, the way dreams sometimes do.

"What do you remember?" Iroh invited.

I went backwards, searching for the concrete. I would piece things together starting there.

"Sozin's comet."

He nodded encouragingly.

"Aang was to fight Ozai. And Zuko and I went to find Azula."

He winced, but regained his composure. He looked at me to see if I had noticed.

I did not have the will to refuse him.

"What… what happened?"

"You've been captured, Katara." He divulged with visible reluctance.

"I'm..? Who captured me?"

He sighed, "Ozai was defeated and lost his bending. Azula took the throne. She took you prisoner."

I began to panic, "Where is-"

"You're brother is alive. He fled with Zuko, Miss Toph, and the Kyoshi warrior."

That didn't sound right. They wouldn't have just _abandoned_ me. There had to be more.

"I do not know what happened. I only know what Azula tells me, as I arrived a week later."

"You were supposed to be in Ba Sing Se." I stated, aware that I was still missing many pieces of the puzzle.

He nodded, "The White Lotus and I retook the city. But then I heard that Azula had taken the throne. I left the city to their protection and came here to find my nephew.

"But I was arrested upon entering the Fire Nation, and brought here. Azula told me she defeated Zuko. But will not reveal what has become of him. I strongly suspect that she is trying to hide his escape. She did supply that you brother escaped with Miss Toph and the Kyoshian, though."

"Suki," I corrected.

"Ah, yes, Suki." He amended.

I took a moment to process all of the new information. Where had they gone? Were they safe? Would they be back for me? They have to. They're probably planning it now.

Iroh waited for me to piece it all together, patiently.

_Wait! What happened to…_

"And Aang…?" I asked pleadingly.

Iroh winced and squeezed my hand.

_NO! I can't be. Nonono. It's a mistake. It's a lie. He's only hurt. I can heal him. He'll be okay. He's okay. _

"He's dead, Katara." Iroh whispered.

Tears sprang unbidden from my eyes. "No!" I tried to shout, but it came out choked and too quiet.

"You're lying," I protested. Iroh pulled my torso to him and held me as I sobbed.

He spared me hollow condolences. I didn't want them. I wanted to cry and scream. Some small part of me was grateful that he understood.

I don't know how long he held me there. I don't know how long I cried.

But soon there was no energy left and my eyelids became heavy again.

I tried to push away the sleep, but it would not be discouraged.

I didn't want to sleep. I did not want to dream. Not in a world without Aang.

But sleep seized me at last.

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><p><strong>AN: Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here, have another chapter. I hit writer's block on my first story and needed to play with something to get the creative juices flowing again. And then _this_ happened. I have not abandoned the other story, but for now, this one is flowing so much better. Please let me know what you think!**

**I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the characters.**

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><p><em><strong>"And it takes all my strength not to dig you up<br>**__**From the ground in which you lay  
><strong>__**The biggest part of me  
><strong>__**You were the greatest thing  
><strong>__**And now you're just a memory  
><strong>__**To let go of.  
><strong>__**In the mourning, I'll rise"**_

Paramore / _In The Mourning_

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

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><p>"Chief Sokka, we have finished the western wall. Would you like to come see it?" Kinu asked.<p>

Sokka rose from his makeshift drafting desk to follow the boy.

Kinu was young, only fifteen, but able and strong.

Sokka tried to forget that the reason Kinu and so many others benders had ended up in his tribe was because they fled the second Siege of the North.

That was why Sokka was throwing all of his resources and energy into fortifying the Southern Tribe. His tribe.

After fleeing the Fire Nation with his friends on the day of the comet, they got word that Azula had crowned herself "Phoenix Queen" and had no intentions of halting her father's world conquest.

Appa made it to the Southern Air Temple before collapsing. He never got up again.

Suki mentioned that she recalled hearing about the spiritual connections between Avatar Kyoshi and her animal companion. One cannot live long without the other.

Toph built the bison a tomb around his body and they used the opportunity for a memorial. They each said some words about Aang, Appa, and Katara. Each except for Zuko.

In fact, he had barely said anything since they escaped the Fire Nation with him.

Sokka hated that he had to be the one to pull Zuko from Aang and Katara's bodies. But he checked their pulses. They were _gone_, and the rest of them had to flee, before they were killed.

_We must live to fight another day_, he'd told the Fire Prince.

After a week at the Southern Air Temple, they agreed to get moving again. But where to?

There was no safe plan of action, and hearing of Azula's hellbent expansion, they were all anxious to get home and protect their families. They admitted this to each other over dinner that night. The Prince still said nothing.

When they woke the next morning, Zuko was gone. They searched the temple and surrounding area for him, but gave up eventually. He obviously did not want to be found.

Toph told them that she had to go to Gao Ling to protect her family. They could only fend for themselves on a political landscape, but with the destruction that Azula was capable of, they were in certain danger.

_Maybe I'll get them to Ba Sing Se, and then I'll come find you guys. _She left the next morning. Sokka and Suki spent another day together, prolonging the inevitable. Suki needed to protect Kyoshi Island, and find out if any of her warriors had fled there and survived.

And Sokka needed to protect his tribe. And find out if his father had returned.

They parted reluctantly, whispering promises of someday soon.

Sokka arrived home, greeted by an insurgence of Northern Tribe refugees, who had sailed around the eastern edge of the Earth Kingdom to get to the southern pole. The North had finally fallen.

His GranGran was alive and relieved to see Sokka, but informed him that neither Hakoda nor his men had yet returned.

They had another memorial for Katara, Hakoda, and all of the other warriors who had never come back.

Then, Sokka immediately employed the Northern benders in fortifying the city.

Looking up at the final wall that Kinu had fetched him for, Sokka was reminded again of his determination to protect his people.

"It's perfect," He told the young bender. He climbed the inner steps to inspect the new watch towers. Satisfied, he turned to the northern wall, the first one to be completed.

Staring at the frosty horizon, he remembered that Kyoshi laid in that direction. His heart ached.

_Suki._

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted. He noticed a spec on the horizon coming into view.

"Men!" He shouted to the benders below. "A boat! Ready the defenses. Gather all the benders! Send the children and elderly into the main house."

His heart sank. He had hoped that the Fire Nation would need more time to regroup after taking the North. But it had already been two months. He was just biding time.

But as the boat came closer and closer, he realized that it was only a tiny sailboat and it was alone.

_No, that can't be Fire Nation. _But he didn't want to trust too much. It could be a trick. He had already become well acquainted with Azula's cunning.

His men now lined the northern wall with him. Waiting for his command.

But when the boat finally docked, only four figures hopped out. Two reached back to grab something. Something heavy.

A body.

Green sails. White faces.

Kyoshi! It was Suki!

"Kinu, Tokki, Kan, Sonnu! Follow me. I think I know who they are."

The indicated men rushed to his side.

"The rest of you, man the wall, in case it's a trap." Sokka couldn't afford to forget the time Azula and her friends disguised themselves as Kyoshi Warriors.

Kinu opened a door at the base of the wall, and Sokka and his troop passed to the outside, before Kinu sealed it up again. Through the fog, Sokka could see the girls struggling to carry the other person.

"Identify yourselves!" Sokka shouted, still cautious.

"Sokka it's me, Ty Lee!" He couldn't mistake that high pitched voice anywhere, but now it was lacking it's usual energy. Something happened.

He motioned for his men to help the girls.

Once the two parties had rushed close enough, Sokka scanned their faces for Suki.

No luck. Not even the injured girl in their arms. The only one he distinctly recognized was Ty Lee.

His rushed to help the other girls.

"Where is she?" He said seriously, now walking back to the village with the rest of the group.

Ty Lee's eyes shined with emotion. She threw her arms around him.

"She's gone, Sokka," the acrobat sobbed. "Azula came to the island. She burned it to the ground. Suki…she...told me to take the youngest girls and...head south and," She choked out between sobs. "And...She went back. She went back to fight."

Sokka's knees gave out. His men and the other warriors stopped walking.

Kinu whispered to the other men, to go ahead without them, get the other girls inside and fed. He would wait with his chief and the girl.

Sokka and Ty Lee sat, a tangled sobbing heap in the snow.

Sokka desperately wanted to deny it. Suki was too strong, too fierce. She seemed eternal. But then again, so did Katara, and their father. And Aang.

They had lost too much.

And it was too believable a story.

Azula would want revenge on Ty Lee for betraying her.

And Suki would never leave her island to ashes. She would definitely look out for the young and injured.

That's the kind of woman she was. The kind that he loved.

Ty Lee began to stifle her sobs, trying to catch her breath enough to speak again. "She told me to tell you she's...sorry. And...she loves you. And she will befriend the moon so that she too can look down on you." She sniffled. "She said you would understand what that means." Ty Lee's voice cracked and she fell into sobs again.

Sokka hugged the girl to him, still weeping, and nodded his head against her shoulder.

"Yes, I understand."

Sokka peered up at the sky, tears streaking his face. The moon was not visible tonight, but he prayed to Yue, anyway. She would listen for him.

_Tell her I understand, Yue. Tell her I got her message._

* * *

><p>After a week, Katara's physician began walking her around the room, leading her with his hands.<p>

She was embarrassed at first, but soon grew determined to regain her strength.

Iroh spent the majority of his time in her sickroom, for the benefit of each other's company.

Katara and the doctor, Zaoru, had just finished a series of laps around the room. He deposited Katara carefully back into her bed, exhausted. Iroh asked if he could have servants bring tea. Zaoru nodded and excused himself.

"Why is everyone being so nice to us?" Katara asked Iroh, still breathy from the exercise.

"Two reasons, I believe. First, we command respect here. I suspect that there are still those that fear the name of the Dragon of the West. As for you, I think it is possible that someone else has vouched for your personal comfort. I have my suspicions, but I am not certain."

Katara raised a quizzical brow at his suggestion.

"Second," He continued, "Azula is away at the moment. Perhaps the palace staff has more freedom for compassion in her absence. Either way, we had best take advantage of this time for your convalescence and to plan."

"Plan?" Katara dared to sound hopeful.

Iroh smirked at her, "Your friends are alive. My nephew is alive, and he is the rightful heir. We need to get you to them as soon as possible," he stated matter of factly, as if commenting on the weather.

Katara glanced around nervously, "Do you have a plan?" She whispered.

Iroh chuckled, "I did not earn the nomer 'Dragon of the West' for my poor planning skills. Later, though. For now, you rest."

She nodded, too tired to disagree.

"Where has she gone?" she ventured.

"Oh? Azula?" Katara nodded in confirmation.

"A war campaign, I am afraid." He sighed.

Katara's stomach twisted. She didn't know where any of her friends were. She prayed quickly for their safety.

"Do you know where?"

"Alas, no. Azula has not seen me much since I was captured, and when she does, she minces words with me. I think she knows that ignorance is torture for me." The old man said sadly.

A servant backed into the door to open it, revealing a tray of tea in her hands. Iroh stood to help her with it.

"Is there anything else you'll be needing General Iroh, Master Katara?"

Katara was taken aback by the use of honorifics. Apparently, her presence did command some sort of respect. Although without the strength to even get to the bathroom independently, the Waterbender wasn't sure how.

"No, thank you dear." Iroh excused the girl.

She bowed and discreetly backed out of the room. The door swung shut behind her.

Katara had just taken a sip of the tea when the door swung open again.

A willowy frame swept into the room, long black tresses sweeping behind her.

_Mai._

"You're awake." The pale weapons master stated flatly.

Katara could not conjure a response.

Luckily Iroh was more competent. "Lady Mai, good afternoon." He greeted kindly. As if he was not prisoner in some place where she was clearly welcome to come and go as she pleased.

"Yes, Master Katara has been up and moving around for a little over a week now." He continued.

Mai nodded in response.

A pregnant pause stretched for almost a minute, while Katara searched her brain for something to say to the girl, and then the courage to say it.

Mai broke the silence first, "Azula is coming back tonight." She spoke as if she were making some kind of off-hand observation. And Katara was unsure what to make of the declaration.

"What are you doing here?" The waterbender finally said.

"I begged a pardon from the Phoenix Queen and she was merciful." Mai's voice, as always, betrayed no emotion.

Katara flinched. Mai had saved Zuko and Suki and her family from prison, and she decided to bounce back to Azula's side after all of that? "Traitor," Katara spat.

"Says the weakling peasant." Mai retorted venomously.

"He cared for you!" Katara pulled out the most potentially damaging weapon she could think of from her mental arsenal. Zuko.

Mai winced, for only a second, before regaining her composure.

"It was unrequited," Mai replied, heartlessly.

Katara took a moment to read the other girl, searching her porcelain facade for some crack she could exploit. She found none.

"You had best watch your mouth when Azula returns. She has no reason to keep you two alive. Do not give her a reason to kill you." And with that Mai turned from the room and left as breezily as she had arrived.

Katara snapped to face Iroh, "What was _that_?"

Iroh only shrugged in response, and sipped at his tea.

"She went through so much to protect us from Azula. She defected before even Ty Lee. And she's suddenly changed her mind?" Katara was aware of the growing volume in her tone. Not wishing to be overheard, she continued with a more controlled voice. "Coward. She's a coward, too afraid to stand for what she believes in, jumping to the winning side."

"It is a cruel path we have all had to tread. Mai maybe lost, yes. But a certain prince was once lost as well. And he found his way, eventually. We must not give up on people." Iroh said sagely.

Katara rolled her eyes, preferring to hate the girl instead. Anyone voluntarily associated with Azula wasn't good. Of that much she was sure.

"She was right about one thing however," Iroh posed.

Katara glared at him disbelievingly.

"Azula has no reason that I know of to keep us alive," He continued, "Let us not give her a reason to kill us." She could tell the words pained him, and she remembered that Azula was, after all, his niece, just as much as Zuko was his nephew. It must hurt to see someone you love do such terrible things.

She nodded understandingly. "I won't jeopardize any chance I have to find my friends."

Katara spent her nights tossing and turning. She dreamt of Aang dying, calling out for her help. But she could not hear his cries because she was napping too heavily. She dreamt of her friends abandoning her.

She routinely awoke in the early hours of the morning, heart racing. She would only find peaceful sleep after the nightmares were spent.

But she found no peace on this morning. An hour before dawn, the door to her room slammed open with a bang.

Katara sat up in bed, fearfully.

Azula. She stormed over to the bed, in full armor, looking as menacing as she could manage. Her hair was obscured by the helmet which only showed her face. Katara wondered if she had ever gotten her botched haircut fixed.

"Look who's awake," Azula sneered.

Katara felt the retort building in her stomach before she remembered Iroh's words.

_Let us not give her a reason to kill us._

Katara bit her tongue, not trusting her voice. She only glared defiantly at Azula.

"Lemur got your tongue, peasant?" Azula said a little loudly. She laughed at her own barb.

Katara remained silent.

Azula swung her arm, and the back of her hand met Katara's jaw with a loud smack.

Blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, the waterbender raised her head again to stare at Azula.

"Say something you dumb bitch!" Azula shrieked.

Katara realized that the silence was heavily unnerving to the other girl. And resolved to remain armoured in it.

Azula cackled again, "Not in the mood to talk? _Fine! _I'll talk!"

She appeared completely unhinged. Katara resisted the instinct to flinch away from her mad smile.

"Let's see! Oh, I'll tell you about my latest trip!" She continued. "I visited a nice little island down south named after some dirty avatar."

_Kyoshi Island_. Katara began to panic.

"I ran into a little bitch who caused me some trouble a while back. You know the one, short hair, facepaint?"

_Suki._ Katara's eyes must have betrayed her fear, because Azula snickered crazily.

"She was quite brave, you know. _Stupid_ is another word for that. Yes, stupid right up until the end. Cremated along with the entire village." Azula was laughing uncontrollably now. Katara fought the tears that threatened the corners of her eyes.

_No, it's not true. She's just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't listen._

Azula turned to leave abruptly and staggered from the room from laughing so hard.

The door didn't swing all the way shut; Azula must have damaged the hinges.

Katara heard faint whispering from the hall.

"Did you find Ty Lee?" It was Mai's voice, disinterested as ever.

Azula's voice, manically loud, replied, "No, I never saw her, she must not be there. The rest are dead though." Katara could hear the delight in Azula's voice and she felt sick.

She waited until she heard retreating footsteps.

_It's true then. Suki's gone._ She wept into the heels of her palms until she drifted back to sleep, eyes too tired to cry anymore.

For now.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey I can't seem to stop writing this story, so here's another chapter. Thanks for the great reviews! I really liked Appa too. But his death made sense with Aang's. And Aang's death was necessary to facilitate this entire plot. And I had plans for Momo, I just hadn't gotten there yet. But I don't want to spoil, so just read. The setup is mostly complete now, so things are going to really get moving now. Let me know what you think, as always! I really love reading your reviews!**

**I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters. **

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><p><strong>"Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does."<strong>  
>Margaret Atwood, <em>The Penelopiad<em>

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

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><p>Toph plodded reluctantly out of her apartment, down the cold predawn streets of Ba Sing Se.<p>

_Another day, another lot of green-bellies to smack around. _

She loved her family enough to fear for their safety, but after getting them to Ba Sing Se safely, she remembered why she left them in the first place.

Needless to say, convincing two wealthy people that the plebeian violence was coming for them was much easier said then done. Then there was the matter of imploring the necessity of discrete travel upon them.

To hear Lady Bei Fong tell it, their poor blind daughter was lashing out against them by forcing them to "rough it" like common folk. Toph found that her tough love approach was not met with as much success here.

_I don't know who raised you to act out in this way, young lady._

_Hm… Yeah, ma, I'm sure _where _I learned to be so unbearably patronizing. _

They made it to Ba Sing Se alive and unscathed, eventually. Toph collaborated with the White Lotus to place her family somewhere passably comfortable (though still below their personal standards) in the Middle Ring, in exchange for a generous donation to the Ba Sing Se militia from the Bei Fong family.

Toph promptly sought out emancipation from her parents, and decided to join the militia to make ends meet.

Ba Sing Se was full of rebel Earthbenders ripe for the impartation of metalbending. The former Rumble Champ's skills were readily received by militia leaders. It was the scrappers, new refugees, that signed up out of patriotic indignation, that needed the real teaching.

They arrived oversure of themselves, and insulted to discover their teacher was a preteen blind girl.

She took it graciously upon herself to humble them.

Toph had originally planned for this to be a temporary gig, so that she could gather resources enough to set out again for the south to find her friends. But the militia pleaded with her to stay another few months and teach the newest wave of recruits.

Communication with her friends had been nearly impossible since the Fire Nation now occupied the rest of the Earth Kingdom in its entirety.

She could only hope that Suki and Sokka made it back their homes safely. And, that Zuko was okay, wherever he'd gone.

Toph arrived at the repurposed warehouse to find it crowded.

_What the… I'm only supposed to be putting up with thirty brats today. What's the fuss about?_

"Master Toph!," Tsetsang, one of her more promising students, ran up to her.

"What are all of these schmucks doing in my classroom?!" Toph demanded.

"Didn't you see in the papers?" Tsetsang asked.

"Oh yeah, I _always_ read the papers!" Toph replied with no small amount of sarcasm.

The other girl stammered embarrassedly, "Yes, I'm sorry. I… I forgot."

Toph grew impatient, "Well? Out with it! What's in the damn paper today?"

"Kyoshi Island has fallen." Tsetsang whispered soberly.

Toph quirked her brow. _No. There's no way…_

"The South Pole and Ba Sing Se are the last holdouts." The girls continued reverently.

Toph nodded in agreement, still turning over the information.

_Suki. No she can't be gone. She must've gotten out. She's with Sokka now. They're fine. _

"Was there any information about survivors or prisoners?" Toph said in one of her rare serious moments.

"The paper quoted the Phoenix Queen saying-"

"Don't call her that!" Toph interrupted. "Azula's just an unhinged princess with an inflated sense of self!"

Tsetsang stuttered, "Ah, uh, yes. She said there were no survivors."

Toph waved her hand with forced flippancy, "Ah, bullstones! That's just propaganda. They just want us to start cowering! I'm sure Suki's fine."

"Suki?" Tsetsang did not recognize the name.

"Uh, the Kyoshians," Toph quickly amended. "I'm sure _they_'re fine."

Tsetsang must have sensed some hidden sadness in her Master's tone. She reached out and placed a comforting hand on the blind girl's shoulder.

Toph leaned into the touch, craving the consolation, for only a moment, before recovering quickly. She shrugged the girl's hand off. "None of that sissy crap. We have work to do." back to her crass self, just like that.

Toph marched to the front of the crowd who, by the smell of wax and smoke, were having a sort of vigil.

"Listen up!" She shouted over the despairing din.

The crowd grew silent.

She continued, "Look, Princess Lunatic is spouting some nonsense about taking out Kyoshi. _If_ that's true, then we alone represent the Earth Kingdom resistance. Let us pay our respects this morning, and be back to training after lunch. If she's done with Kyoshi, she's coming for us next, and we need to show her that Ba Sing Se did not forget her treachery."

The crowd cheered affirmatively.

"If anyone hears anymore concrete information about possible survivors from the island, you will report it to me immediately. If not, I will see you all this afternoon for class. No excuses."

Toph made a beeline for the exit. She needed to be alone for while.

Toph half-ran back to the apartment. When she burst through the door, minutes later, she ran to the back room where Momo always lazed in front of the window.

Toph was hesitant about taking the lemur into her care, but with Aang and Appa gone, there were few options. Zuko disappeared before a decision could be made. Suki had no real emotional attachment to the creature. And Sokka was worried about how the lemur would fare in the polar climate long term. It was a weak excuse, but Toph took the hint and offered to take him. Truth be told, he was good company. After being part of a group for so long, she needed a little extra life around her single-room apartment to keep her spirits up.

Momo perked up and purred curiously at her entrance. Toph scooped the little lemur into her arms and hugged him to her. It was uncharacteristic, but Toph needed the comfort now. She didn't have Aang's chipper worldview anymore. She couldn't even pretend to be annoyed at Katara's nurturing comforts anymore. She needed something. Someone to talk to. She didn't care if it made her seem as crazy as Azula herself. She needed this. The news of Kyoshi was another painful reminder of just how utterly _alone_ she was.

Momo screeched and wriggled out of her grasp. She chuckled without humor and sat down. Momo hopped down to the table and began preening down his rumpled fur, sour about her unusual display of affection.

"I'm pretty sure Suki's gone now, too, Momo." Toph sighed. Her voice cracked, just a bit.

Momo stopped cleaning himself and peered at her intelligently.

"That's right. They're coming for us or Sokka next."

Momo tittered anxiously.

Toph hiccuped and then hunched forward throwing her face into her palms, and wept quietly.

"I don't know if Zuko's even alive anymore." She cried. That had been something she'd resisted admitting to herself for a while. But it had been _months._ Azula sure put a price on his head. Maybe he was gone too. Almost everyone else was.

Momo perched himself on the edge of the table and nuzzled her face sympathetically.

"Sokka's all that I'm sure I have left. I can't lose him. What if we're the only ones left?...

"We can't..." she choked out another sob. "What if we can't do it without them?"

She wept for a while longer. Momo comforted her nervously.

"We have to, though. We don't have a choice." She finally spoke again, wiping her face dry on a grubby sleeve.

Momo purred with excitement as the girl collected herself.

"Guess, that's what I get for wishing Sokka was single, huh?" The blind girl asked the lemur, remorsefully.

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><p>Katara found most of the Fire Palace's grand amenities unbearably impractical. Like the servants that that walked beside her and Iroh through the courtyard on rainy days, carrying umbrellas above the pair, but not themselves. And the new sets of blue robes that kept appearing in her wardrobe every week, when the several she had were still perfectly suitable.<p>

But she found herself deeply grateful for the invention of the shower. It was like another room within her bathroom. It was walled off from the sink and toilet with giant glass panes, and pumped hot spring water from a faucet in the ceiling. It was spacious and private enough to practice some of the more basic waterbending forms in secrecy. She was sure that the servants suspected, but they said nothing.

She took inordinately long showers, but perhaps most just suspected it was her natural affinity for water that kept her bathing so long. Regardless, she savored her daily shower. It felt so good to be surrounded by her element again. And the practice sped up her convalescence greatly.

Katara made sure to shower in the evening, because her self-healing sessions drained her energy and she wished to keep it as inconspicuous as possible.

It had been two months since she woke up in the Fire Palace.

Azula kept Katara out her sight, for which the waterbender was grateful. Katara had not uttered a word to Azula since that fateful night the girl returned from Kyoshi.

The waterbender found that the silence achieved much and served her purposes well; it sufficiently pissed off Azula and it kept Katara from spilling out the potentially incriminating scaths that threatened to escape her lips.

But she kept up her visits with Iroh, and in their rare moments of solitude, they plotted escape.

Katara overheard a conversation with Mai and one of the guards shortly after Azula returned. They whispered that Azula wished to launch an assault on the Southern Water Tribe coinciding with a lunar eclipse that was expected in four months.

_No! They'll be powerless. _

This sped up the escape planning process immensely.

Katara told Iroh that night.

"We need to get to the South Pole and warn them!" She whispered.

"I agree. We must get you out of here soon. There is a full moon in a week. That would be ideal for you." Iroh nodded.

"Not just me, I need you too!" She argued.

Iroh smiled tightly. "Katara, dear, my place is here. I must keep the throne safe for my nephew. Once you warn your brother, you must find Zuko for me. It will do you all well to have someone helping from the inside."

Katara felt her eyes began to well with emotion. "She'll kill you, Iroh."

"I do not think that is particularly true, my dear." He clasped her hand, as had become his habit when consoling her. "Azula says many things, but I believe she still fears me to some extent. She will keep me trapped here, yes. More's the better, though. I will be waiting for you all to return."

Katara understood that Iroh had thought much on the subject. But that didn't stop the sudden terror she felt.

_I'll have to do this alone. _

"Okay," she finally conceded, nodding with a brave resolution that she did not feel inside.

The week passed too quickly.

Katara knelt behind her dresser with unearthly stillness.

"Katara! Let me in!" Iroh shouted from across the room, pounding on her bathroom door.

The nerves began to set in. She fought to keep her breathing quiet and even.

As if on cue, the guards posted outside her door burst into the room.

"What are you yelling about?" One of them accused Iroh.

"She's ill again, and distressed. She's locked herself in the bathroom and won't listen to me!" The old man sounded genuinely perplexed.

Katara spared a smirk at the Dragon of the West's acting skills. She glanced beneath the dresser to confirm that the guards' feet were turned away from her before stealing out of the room with more stealth than she realized she possessed.

Katara loved the full moon. Even from inside the large palace, she could sense the power it gave her. It felt so raw. And it amplified the already intense pounding of blood in her ears.

_Left thirty paces, right fifty six._ Katara repeated Iroh's directions like a mantra in her head. He had told her of a tunnel system that went through the palace, in the event that the royal family needed to flee. It had not been used since before Sozin's reign though. Iroh wasn't sure if Azula knew of it, but they were praying that she didn't.

The old general gave her directions to the nearest access point to the tunnels, and then told her to run east. The tunnel would eventually open to a discrete beach. Then he told her to _swim!_

_Swim south, swim as fast as you can for as long as you can. Do not stop until sunrise._

Katara whispered a quick prayer to Yue, thanking her for the lent strength.

_Right twenty six_. Katara rounded a corner, keeping pace, not bothering to check for guards. She didn't have time. Iroh could only distract those men for so long.

_Dammit_. After rounding the final corner to her destination hall, she spotted two guards at the other end. They froze upon noticing her.

The waterbender took a steadying breath.

_You cannot afford compassion tonight,_ More of Iroh's words rang in her mind.

With a wave of her arms, the first man was down. Katara was again thankful for the full moon that allowed her to bloodbend just enough to knock the man out for a few hours.

She whirled around to meet the other guard. But, it wasn't a guard. It was her physician.

"Zaoru, what are you _doing _here!?" She didn't want to hurt this man. He'd been nothing but kind to her since she awoke.

"Don't do this, Katara, _please_!" He pleaded with her, apparently feeling hesitant too.

Before Katara could react, a silver flash flew from her periphery and landed into Doctor Zaoru's throat. He toppled to the ground without a word. Only the unsettling gargle of foreign liquid in his throat.

A pale face stepped out of the shadows.

_Mai._ She appeared the perfect picture of calm. Katara wondered if she even cared that she'd killed a man.

"What have you done?" Katara yelled and ran to the man's side. She pulled the knife from his throat and sought water from the repurposed wineskin hanging from her shoulder.

"You dumb bitch!" Mai shrieked, "He's dead. _Run_!"

Katara felt the water fall useless in her control. She patched the skin on his neck, but beneath the surface, his insides would not yield to her healing touch.

She stared up at Mai, unused to seeing the somber noblewoman so panicked. Why did she care?

Then it clicked: Mai was helping her escape.

_Someone vouching for my comfort, Iroh suggested. It was _Mai_!_

"Do you still love him?" Katara found herself asking. There was no need to clarify who 'him' was.

"It won't matter what I feel, if you don't find him and bring him back. _Soon._" Mai said with regained composure.

Mai was afraid. She was afraid for her friend, steadily descending into madness. She was afraid for Zuko who had disappeared almost five months ago. And she was afraid for the Fire Nation.

Katara nodded at the girl, knowing that their time was running out.

"Then it will not do for Azula to find a knife wound in his neck. I healed the skin." Katara tossed the knife back to its owner and she caught the hilt with ease, deposited it back into its hiding place in her robes.

Mai nodded back, gratefully. And without another word, Katara ducked into the vacant conference room Iroh indicated earlier.

Once safely inside, Katara heard a group of approaching footsteps.

"She took out the guards!" Mai instructed the reinforcing group, "She went that way!" And they took off in whichever direction she indicated.

Katara smiled to herself, a silent thanks to Mai. She ducked under the conference table and lifted the corner of an expensive looking rug. There it was, a trap door. She lifted it with ease and dropped down into the darkness.

She bent a stream of water up to pull the rug back over the door and dropped it closed above her. Not leaving any tracks but the dampness on the rug.

She suddenly wished she was a firebender, now without the ability to see a damn thing in the tunnel.

She closed her eyes and reached out to feel which way the beach was.

_Left_. She took off in a careful run, keeping on hand on the way to steady herself in the near pitch black.

She kept seeing Zaoru in her mind, eyes open and lifeless.

_He didn't deserve that. I reacted too late. If I had knocked him out, Mai never would have killed him. _

It was over, there was nothing she could do now.

But, Mai had _helped_ her. Why?

Was her "pardon" a fake?

Katara thought back to the few encounters she'd had with Mai. There was that one night, when she appeared in her room to threaten her with Azula's return.

_Maybe she wasn't _threatening _me_, Katara considered. _Maybe she was _warning _me_.

And then she heard Mai ask Azula if Ty Lee was on Kyoshi. Could it be that Mai never wanted Azula to exact revenge on their friend? Maybe Mai was concerned for the other girl.

The only other time she had been near Mai was a few weeks ago, when she heard the girl whispering to a guard just outside the sickroom.

But why would a palace guard need to know of Azula's battle plans? And why would it be worth discussing outside Katara's room?

_She wanted to warn me._

The realization took some time to sink it, but it seemed that Mai was truly on her side.

She wondered absently what Mai had said to Azula to convince her to keep Katara alive.

Soon, moonlight became visible at the opening of the tunnel. Katara picked up speed toward it, and arrived as promised at the beach. She was so ready to dive in and swim, that she almost missed the tiny canoe hidden beneath broken sea oats.

_Who would have left a_-

Mai.

Katara wasted no time dragging it to the waterline before hopping in and propelling herself away from the shore.

It took her a moment to determine which way was south, but the stars helped her orient. And then she was shooting across the water, back to her home.

_I'm coming, Sokka!_

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><p><strong>AN: I am aware that Toph seems ooc, but bear with me, ok? This is a _really_ dark time for her, and it is a private moment. I'm sure even the strongest people you know have moments of weakness in private. It's because they're human. They have to have those weak moments to be able to go back out into the world and be strong again. Also, I think that Toph is maturing a little. **

**Whether you buy it or not, I want to know. You guys make me a better writer. Please review!**


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